As the haze begins to lift following the arrival of baby Bouquet #2 my mind is buzzing with ideas, energy and blog posts to make up for a four month hiatus. Maternity leave and even night time feeds give a refreshing amount of head space for seedling thoughts of the future to germinate. But as any mum might empathise, finding your voice again after such a game changing addition to your life can require some serious soul searching to genuinely reconnect.

Naturally I turned to wine for inspiration but was disappointed to find that even in the nations favourite alcoholic tipple confidence doesn’t always blossom from experience. Take Bodegas Saletein Malbec Barrel Selection, a wine made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their chief wine maker; it should have overflowed with such flavour and intensity as to command a level of respect that only a scion of its trade could garner and yet on opening it delivered no more than a textbook Malbec of mediocre proportions. Tanners Douro Red had my expectations running equally high, with over a century of winemaking knowledge behind it and with an enthusiasm for Portuguese still wines at an all time high even at a very reasonable £8.20 my tastebuds were disappointed to be met with no more than stewed fruit flavours of deja-vu and averageness.

I’m racking my brain as to how these two stalwarts of their trade could have lost touch with their voice in such a way, could it be plain old complacency or perhaps they have forgotten that wine was once their baby that needed feeding, nurturing, attention and guidance to blossom to its full potential…..